


A Little Bit Scandalous

by ziamandbeyond



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, X-Factor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-17 06:52:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8134304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziamandbeyond/pseuds/ziamandbeyond
Summary: Louis is an X-Factor judge and Marcel is a contestant.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [1D_Hiatus_Prompt_Meme](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/1D_Hiatus_Prompt_Meme) collection. 



> Playlist: <https://open.spotify.com/user/ziamnbeyond/playlist/3CQHEigxMpDgLSQhGVhJbq>  
> Based on[ this](http://tomlinshires.tumblr.com/post/134111737280/bottomharryprompts-au-meme-louis-is-an) post.

With shaking hands, Marcel took hold of the microphone the host held out to him and made his way to the mark on center stage. There was a bead of sweat threatening to drip onto his face, but outwardly his nerves didn’t betray him.

At least not until he looked up at the judges. He’d been watching X Factor for years, practically grew up with it. It was mostly just a show that his sister watched each week. He’d catch a few episodes here and there, but when they added Louis Tomlinson to the list of judges, Marcel found himself watching a lot more frequently.

Now Louis and the other judges were seated in front of him and Marcel hadn’t realized how tight his shirt felt when he put it on that morning. He loosened the tie and pulled at the collar to give himself a little space to breathe before he introduced himself.

“Hello, my name’s Marcel and I’m nineteen years old,” he told them.

“Nice to meet you Marcel,” Simon started. “Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?”

“I used to work at a bakery, but right now I am fully dedicated to college,” he supplied. He felt a bead of sweat make it’s way down the back of his neck and fought the urge to reach for it as it tickled the small, sensitive hairs there.

“What are you studying at college?” Simon asked.

“Law,” he got out before making eye contact with the blue eyes of Louis Tomlinson. “Um, sociology.” He looked away after the piercing eyes of the judge made his train of thought difficult. “I’m also interested in like-”

“You seem a bit flustered there, you alright?” Simon interrupted.

“Yeah! Sorry, I just remembered I used to tell my sister that I was going to come here and find out if Louis was as handsome as he looked on TV. It’s safe to say he’s even more handsome in person.”

Marcel watched as Louis sat back in his chair, eyes wide. He looked over to Simon who raised his eyebrows at him with a smirk.

“Wow...he’s a lot less shy than I thought he’d be,” he said to Simon with a laugh.

Simon turned back to Marcel, still laughing from Louis’ comment and said, “So what are you singing for us?”

“Uh, Drag Me Down by One Direction”

Everyone looked to Louis to see his reaction to Marcel’s announcement that he was going to sing one of _his_ songs. Marcel took a moment to wipe the edge of his glasses that had fogged up a little. Louis smiled at him and said, “Go on and smash it, lad.”

Marcel nailed every note he attempted and the crowd were on their feet cheering him on. Louis was known for his poker face during the first auditions, but he let a smile creep through and was on his feet applauding Marcel by the end of the song.

“That was great. I know we wrote the song, but I don’t see us being able to perform that anywhere near as great as that performance,” Louis said before turning to Simon. “You think we could get away with adding a fifth member to One Direction? I want this kid to join us.”

“If you can I will be the first to sign him up,” Simon laughed and then focused his attention on Marcel. “That was absolutely incredible. You’ve just upped the game for everyone in this competition.”

“You can hit some great notes, but your voice also has a uniqueness to it that I quite enjoy,” Rita added.

Marcel left the stage with four yeses and a trip to the next round.

He never thought he’d be sitting by the pool of a house in the Hollywood hills, but Marcel was enjoying a spectacular view of Los Angeles with his bare feet in the warm stream of water from Louis Tomlinson’s pool.

He rolled up the legs of his khakis and was soaking in the sun as he waited for his turn to perform in front of Louis to see if he would make it to the live round of the X Factor. Most of the other contestants were off in various corners of the property rehearsing their songs. Marcel had spent most of the morning doing the same thing, but he was next to go and he wanted to be as relaxed as possible before he had to get camera ready and stand alone in front of Louis to sing.

To be honest, he never really intended to be too serious about the contest. He liked to sing when he was at home and his sister had always told him he should audition, but he didn’t think he had the talent to make it past auditions. Now that he was sat in California, Marcel didn’t want to leave. The pressure felt heavier than ever before and all he wanted was a chance.

Soon a production assistant was standing in front of him ushering him to a chair to get his makeup done. He was handed a microphone and lead into a room where Louis was sat with one of the producers he’s known to work with on his band’s albums.

“Hey, Marcel! How are you doing? Nervous?” Louis asked when he entered the room.

“More nervous than I’ve been for any exam I’ve ever taken,” he said. Marcel pointed at his rolled up pants and said, “Been lying by your pool to try to calm the nerves in the sun though. You’ve got a lovely home by the way, thank you for having me.”

“My pleasure,” he smiled. “Go ahead whenever you’re ready.”

Marcel took a deep breath (he’d left the tie off this time so that nothing could limit his breath). The song challenged him vocally and it was a little different than the song he’d done for his audition so he was really hoping that it would show his versatility and get him through to the live shows.

Marcel began to sing “Could Have Been Me” by The Struts and by the look on Louis’ face he hadn’t been expecting it. This time Louis did a good job of keeping a poker face, but if the twitch in his lip was anything to go by then he could guess that he was doing a good job.

“Thank you, Marcel,” Louis said with a wink after he’d finished the song. He took that as his cue to leave and heard Louis’ guest speak to Louis in a low voice that he clearly wasn’t meant to hear, “He was amazing. Is he the one that nailed our song?”

He left the room with a smile but he sat in an anxious mess for the rest of the day while all the other boys auditioned for Louis and his guest. Everyone came out confident that they’d performed very well but they couldn’t all make it to the next stage of live shows.

Marcel saw Liam leave the house after the last audition and not long after they were calling them one by one to sit down in front of Louis to learn their fate. The ones who hadn’t been told if they’d be going on or going home were kept outside while those who already learned their future were all in the house. The only time it was obvious what they were told was if they saw someone jumping up and down inside the house or if they saw someone crying through the windows.

There were only two boys left when Marcel got called in. He was shaking as he approached the sunroom where Louis was sat and lead to the seat across from him.

“I’ve got a bit of a problem, Marcel,” Louis started off. “I only have one spot left and two great singers.” Marcel nodded taking a deep breath of air into his lungs.

“When you first stepped on stage I thought this poor kid is going to be shy, scared, and nervous. I was worried you would choke and then I was worried that if that happened that you’d be teased mercilessly for it. Clearly you’re not as shy as I thought you were and you’ve completely blown me away with your voice. You’re unique and different and I can’t wait to see what you bring to this show.”

It took Marcel a minute to realize that he was through but when it finally clicked in his head he ran over to Louis and threw his arms around the other man’s neck in an excited hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he chanted in his ear. Louis moved his arms around Marcel’s waist and pulled him in tight before he gave him a pat on the back and let Marcel go into the house.

Louis treated the three finalist to dinner that night and spoke about how excited he was for the season with them as they all laughed and got to know each other a bit better.

Marcel and Louis have a big meeting before the live shows start to decide how they’re going to navigate through the show. Louis explains the process of the show and gives him the tips he’d wished he’d known when his band was going through the competition. “I think you should keep choosing your songs every week. You know your skills better than I do and I’ll always give you my input during rehearsals if something’s not working.”

That’s how Marcel ended up making headlines a few weeks later when people were speculating what he was trying to say with his song choices. His first live performance had been a flirty song aimed towards Louis Tomlinson and people latched on to something between them. It didn’t help that the other guys in his category started to resent him. Louis would spend time with them individually after each show to talk about what was good about their performance, what could be worked on, and what to try in the future. He met with the other two first for about an hour each and then he’d meet up with Marcel. To be fair, they usually spoke business for the first hour they were together but then they’d spend the rest of the night talking about anything and everything.

Marcel didn’t know there was any bad blood until Charles was talking with the judges after one of his performances. It wasn’t his best and Simon was drilling into him pretty hard when he pushed back, “Maybe it would have been better if I got more help from Louis, but he’s been too busy hanging out with Marcel to work with us.”

Louis’ face changed instantly and Charles could tell that he spoke out of turn. Louis went to speak out but Simon beat him to it, “I really do hate when people blame their shortcomings on others. Excuses won’t get people to vote you into next week.”

Marcel had an emotional song to perform about letting someone see your vulnerabilities so he didn't have time to dwell on Charles' comments, he just went on stage and left his heart there. The magazines and gossip sites had it right because his choices were directed towards Louis Tomlinson, but it was bittersweet because in all the time that he’d spent with Louis the judge never showed any indication that he reciprocated those feelings and thoughts.

He stood in front of Louis in the practice room and rehearsed the song he’d chosen, an acoustic slowed down version of Ariana Grande’s “Into You.” It was just Marcel, his guitar, and Louis in the room and silence fell over them after the last chord had been strummed.

Louis was staring at him and Marcel couldn’t hold eye contact with the other man, if felt like too much so his eyes trailed to the ground, but then Louis had gotten out of his chair and walked over lifting Marcel’s head so that he was staring straight into the judge’s eyes.

Marcel felt his chest tighten in that moment and realized that he was falling in love with the blue eyes before him. Louis stroked his cheek before his hand embraced the back of Marcel’s neck and he pulled him into a kiss.

Rehearsals were forgotten as they kept kissing, hungry to be together, and longing to be even closer. Hands started roaming as their tongues explored. That is, until there was a knock on the door as Charles arrived for his meeting with Louis. The two broke apart and rushed to flatten out their hair. Marcel straightened out his tie and tucked in his shirt as he walked towards the door.

“Will you stop by the house later?” he asked. Louis nodded as Marcel opened the door to let Charles inside. He looked at the flustered singer and shook his head in disgust. “You know most people would be discreet about fucking the judges to win,” he sneered before closing the door in Marcel’s face before another word could be spoken.

Marcel laughed the words off because he knew it wasn’t true. There were real feelings between him and Louis and Marcel was determined to tell Louis how he felt that night when he came over.

The only problem with Marcel’s plan was that Louis never came.

He called but Louis never picked up and then it started going straight to voicemail. When he went to rehearse the next day Louis still wasn’t there and instead sent the resident vocal coach in his place. Something broke when Charles had come back to the house that night boasting about all the great things Louis had said during their session that day. Louis was ignoring him.

After being met with Louis’ voicemail again, Marcel curled up on his bed and cried. He just wanted to know why Louis was ignoring him. Maybe Charles had been right and it wasn’t real. Maybe Louis had just been expecting a bit of fun but nothing serious. He didn’t want to focus on the heartache so he focused on the anger and started rehearsing a new song for the next show.

Louis looked shocked when Marcel came out singing “Hope You Got What You Came For” instead of the Ariana Grande song he’d thought he was going to hear. It gave Marcel satisfaction to blindside Louis on stage because it’s how he felt when he was suddenly ignored by the singer.

The articles in the paper changed to speculation of what happened between the singer and the judge. Especially since Charles was eliminated and did a bunch of interviews about how things were unfairly shifted in Marcel’s direction because he was sleeping with a judge.

Marcel wondered how everything could crash and burn so quickly. Especially when he got a text from Louis telling him that he was singing with a special guest next week and that Louis would be picking the song. It turned out to be Louis’ band, One Direction. Louis kept his distance during rehearsals and Marcel wondered if it was that terrible to be stuck in a room with him.

The other guys were nice enough to him telling them that he had a great voice and that they hoped he’d win. Louis however would barely look at him and would leave the second the rehearsals were over for the day. He still hadn’t said a word to him since the day they kissed other than the text. He left one of the other boys to tell him which parts of their song he’d be singing and any notes on how to improve the performance.

One day after rehearsals Zayn pulled him to the side to have a talk. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Louis, but - “

“Nothing, as you’ve seen he hasn’t spoken to me at all this week.”

“But I can see that something has clearly happened because Lou’s not acting like himself and if his song choice is anything to go by…”

“His song choice doesn’t have to mean anything,” Marcel said folding his arms in front of him.

“Like how your song choices don’t mean anything?” Zayn said with a knowing smirk. “Look, all I’m trying to say is don’t give up on him. I think he cares about you a lot but he tends to overthink things.”

“Why are you telling me this? I want to hate him, Zayn! At least if I hated him my heart wouldn’t hurt so bad.”

Their performance of “Where do Broken Hearts Go” went extremely well although there was noted tension between Louis and Marcel on stage. There were only two more shows left so Marcel poured his heart into winning the competition. He wasn’t going to rely on anyone but himself to get him through it even though Louis was meeting him again for rehearsals.

When he did his first performance of “Lay Me Down” for Louis he looked up to see tears coming down the judge’s cheeks. Louis opened his mouth to say something but Marcel walked out of the room, done for the day.

He cried on stage when he performed it. He could see tears behind Louis’ eyes backstage as he approached Marcel and wrapped him in the biggest hug he could. “Can we talk tonight?” Louis asked. “I owe you an explanation.”

 “Are you actually going to show up?” Marcel questioned.

“I promise,” Louis nodded.

Louis stopped by the contestant’s house, which was incredibly empty now that there were only two acts left in the game. He knocked on the door and Marcel led him through the house to the porch outside.

“I don’t think I can even express how sorry I am,” Louis started. “I kissed you and then I stood you up.”

“I remember it pretty clearly; you don’t need to summarize it for me.”

“Yes, well, do you remember what Charles said to you that day too?” Louis asked.

“That thing about fucking the judges?” Marcel asked, Louis flinched. “I didn’t think you’d heard that.”

“I did and it got me thinking about all the articles and speculation and I was worried.” Louis said.

“Worried about what? About what people thought of you? I thought you were better than that.”

“No, about what people thought about you,” Louis explained. “Marcel, you’re so talented. More so than I could ever hope to be and I didn’t want anybody to ever say that you didn’t get what you deserved. That you only got this because of a relationship. I couldn’t handle people saying those things about you.”  

Marcel’s heart was racing because maybe Louis did feel the same way he did. “I can admit that I went about things the wrong way. Zayn nearly killed me when I admitted everything to him after the last show. He helped me see what I had done to you and convinced me to tell you the truth, but after you ran out of me on rehearsals I thought you wouldn’t ever give me the chance to tell you about what a fool I’ve been.”

Marcel leaned in to give Louis a kiss but Louis put his hand on Marcel’s chest which forced him to keep his distance. “Not until you win tomorrow night,” he said.

“People are going to say what they want regardless of whether or not we kiss right now,” Marcel said.

“Yes, but I won’t give them gasoline for their flames.”

Marcel was more than happy to go out on a positive note and blew the roof off the stadium when he performed “Let Me Love You” with all of his heart. The moment of truth was upon them as Louis and Marcel stood on the stage hand in hand across from the other contestant as the host read out the winner’s name. Louis threw himself into Marcel’s arms while the other contestant was talking about how they’ve enjoyed their X Factor experience and that they’d continue singing even though they didn’t win the competition.

“Louis,” Marcel said before he was handed a microphone to sing his winning single. “You’ve been such a great friend and mentor but will you please go out on a date with me now?”

“Absolutely,” Louis smiled as Marcel took to the stage again.


End file.
